The Curse That Should Not Be
by Vivien Lestrange
Summary: "Nothing you can do to me can be worse than living with the knowledge that Voldemort has returned because of me." (Alice Longbottom) During the height of his power, Voldemort had countless followers. After his downfall, only four are left. Four people, prepared to do anything to find their master.
1. Part 1 Loyalty

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related. No money is being made with this story.

AN: I've divided the story into three parts to it's easier to read.

* * *

**The Curse That Should Not Be.  
**

**Part 1 Loyalty **

The clock was ticking slowly. It had moved past 10 pm a while ago.

Bellatrix walked up and down the living-room, impatience clearly visible on every feature of her face.

Her husband Rodolphus was watching her silently. Perfect, that had been his thought when he had seen her for the very first time. Rodolphus had long since learned that such a thing as perfection didn't exist, at least not in human beings, but she was still coming close. Impatience and anger made her even more attractive than she usually was. Rodolphus still had trouble believing that such a witch had chosen him of all people. She had been the one who had made that choice of course. No one would expect anything else from a witch with the blood of Morgana herself running through her veins.

Her admiration was with the Dark Lord but wasn't that true of them all? She was giving him more than enough as it was.

"He's late," she said. The clock was tolling twice, it was 10.30 already.

"We know," Rabastan said looking up from the copy of the Daily Prophet he had been reading. Its front page featured an article about Barthemius Crouch's chances to become Minister of Magic.

Rodolphus was wondering if the hopeful politician's son had gotten cold feet. He couldn't claim that the thought was bothering him much. Barty had only been a Death Eater for the last six months. He had done very well, no doubt, and killed quite a few enemies of the Dark Lord. Still, he had never been sent on torture missions. Rodolphus was sure that the Dark Lord had done this for a reason. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't tend to give his followers jobs they couldn't carry out.

His Cruciatus curse experience was limited to one time where he had used it on Crabbe for punishment. This had worked out reasonably well but it had been nothing like the things planned for tonight.

Barty wanted the Dark Lord's return as much as they all did. There was no doubt about that. Rodolphus wasn't sure if he'd be much help tonight though. As a child, he had known Frank Longbottom quite well. He had taught the younger boy to play Quidditch if Rodolphus remembered correctly. Barty's father had said again and again that he would have preferred a son like Frank. Was that enough to make Barty carry this through?

"If he doesn't turn up during the next ten minutes we're leaving without him," Bellatrix said. Both brothers agreed.

Only three minutes later, the doorbell rang.

"This must be him," Rabastan said.

Bellatrix was looking doubtful. "I hope it's not an Auror."

"Aurors can't get past our protective charms," Rodolphus said.

His ancestors had made sure of that. His family's house was probably one of the safest ones in Britain. Still, all three of them went to the door together.

The wizard standing in front of it was indeed Barty, already wearing his hooded Death Eater cloak an eager look on his face.

"Sorry for being so late. My parents forgot their theatre tickets and I simply couldn't get away earlier."

"No problem," Rabastan said.

Bellatrix' look made it quite clear that she disagreed.

"Come in for a quick word."

The four settled down in the living-room together.

"One thing first. You don't have to do this," Rabastan said. "The three of us are more than enough and you can help us in many other ways."

Barty shook his head. "I want to come. I want to help you find him."

"It's your decision," Rabastan said. "But do note that this won't be pleasant."

"Rabastan's right," Rodolphus said. "If you can't cope, it's better you stay here."

"You're going to have to live with these memories," Rabastan added. "Maybe in Azkaban."

This was a possibility they had to take into account. Rodolphus had strong doubts that Barty could survive there.

The boy had become almost something like a third brother to them but he did not have the Lestranges' resilience against dark magic and creatures.

"I'm going to come," Barty said stubbornly.

Rodolphus said nothing. It was his choice.

"Alright. Now that we've got this settled there's one thing you need to know," Bellatrix said. "This isn't a killing mission. When Longbottom has told us what we need to know, we're going to use a memory charm on him and leave him."

"Why? Memory charms can be broken," Barty said.

"Yes, but only if someone realises that there is something that needs to be broken," Rodolphus said. He had been a Healer in the past and was quite capable to use a Memory charm in a way that made it impossible for anyone to know that something had been wrong.

"It's simple. If there's a dead Auror, the Ministry will know that something's going on. This way they won't and we can look for him with far less trouble," Bellatrix explained. "Of course, it's a nuisance, but what's the life of one Auror compared to the return of the Dark Lord?"

"Okay. I understand that," Barty said. "But what are we going to do if he doesn't talk?"

"He will," Rodolphus said. "They all do in the end. It may take a while though. That's why we should go now. Only one thing Barty, we're not going to use our names there. Should be obvious, we wouldn't need the masks otherwise but I wanted to mention it."

The three Lestranges put on their Death Eater cloaks, and masks. It had been over a year since Rodolphus had done so for the last time. They had spent the entire time planning what to do, staying hidden.

There was a wild glow in Bellatrix' eyes that he hadn't seen her for a long time. Like a wild falcon waiting to sink her claws into her prey. "Let's go!" she shouted. "For the Dark Lord! And for Evan and Jeremy!"

Their friends Evan Rosier and Jeremy Wilkes had both been killed by Aurors. Bellatrix cousin had died while fighting the ones who wanted to arrest him; Jeremy Wilkes had been tortured to death at the Ministry. Or, precision was always important to Rodolphus; he had been tortured to the brink of insanity by the Aurors and thrown into Azkaban afterwards where he had died.

A few seconds later, the four Death Eaters where standing in a small Muggle town in front of a small, semi-detached house. There was no sign of magical people living here at all. Lights were on at the Longbottoms' as well as in the other half of the house. A dog was barking.

Bellatrix shook her head. "I can't believe it. Members of the Sacred-Twenty-Eight living among Muggles like this. How shameful."

"That's completely irrelevant now," Rodolphus told her. She cast him an angry glare.

"Ring the bell or break open the door?" As always, Rabastan was interested in the practical matters.

"Break open," Bellatrix said. "So he isn't warned."

The Longbottoms had put a few protective charms on their home but they didn't hold out against the combined magic of the three Lestranges and Barty. An "Alohomora" later, the door was open and they could walk inside. Behind the door, there was a very small hallway, followed by a large living room. Frank Longbottom was sitting on an armchair, reading the same copy of the Daily Prophet Rabastan had been reading earlier.

Rodolphus hope that they might be able to catch him unaware proved false very quickly though. As soon as they had closed the door behind them, he was on his feet, his wand in his hand.

Seconds later, the fight had begun. Rodolphus had expected it to be quick; there were four of them after all.

Longbottom however had obviously been taught how to deal with that kind of situation. He was casting curses and spells absurdly fast and had some trick to move from one side of the room to the other within moments. It wasn't quite apparition but no ordinary running either.

He could turn up next to them at any moment and quickly escaped to the other side of the room as soon as he was facing more than one opponent.

Rodolphus had no chance to even reach him with one of his own curses. The more accomplished duellists Bellatrix and Rabastan did better but they too couldn't manage to subdue him. Barty was quite busy not being hit by any of Longbottom's curses. He did manage to protect the others in a few instances though.

Barty was blocking a curse aimed at Bellatrix when he was hit by a flash of purple light from behind. He was toppling over, obviously unconscious.

At first, Rodolphus believed that Longbottom had managed to do this somehow. He hadn't. When Rodolphus looked again he saw Alice Longbottom walking down the stairs.

She jumped to the ground floor, probably with the help of some spell as well. At the same time, she was aiming another curse at Bellatrix. Unlike Barty, Bellatrix reacted quickly. She used a shield charm and Alice's curse had no effect. The two witches were duelling each other fiercely now. For a moment, Alice seemed to stumble over her slippers. She simply cast them aside and fought on barefooted, wearing nothing but her white nightgown.

Rodolphus avoided a spell from Longbottom and cast one into his direction. Once again, it was deflected.

He didn't like this at all. There were three of them against two Aurors now. For the first time, Rodolphus was seriously considering that their trip might end in Azkaban before they had been able to ask a single question.

Alice, like her husband, didn't intend to keep fighting Bellatrix on her own. She too was changing her position really quickly now. Rodolphus found himself fighting against both of them for a short moment, until they had to defend themselves against his companions again.

Soon afterwards, Alice was fighting Bellatrix once again. This time, she was giving Bellatrix plenty of trouble.

Rodolphus had an idea. Her bare feet made her vulnerable. He simply made some of the glass shards from a broken mirror fall right in front of her. Busy fighting Bellatrix, Alice didn't notice that and walked right into the sharp shards. She gasped with pain but it wasn't enough to detract her. She still managed to block Bellatrix' next spell.

Rodolphus had to fight Frank again now, soon helped by Rabastan. A few moments later, Alice had come to her husband's aid, followed by Bellatrix. The five of them were standing closely together now, curses flying from on to the other.

Rodolphus needed all his concentration not to be hit by anything.

Longbottom moved to the other corner of the room, followed by Bellatrix and Rabastan. Rodolphus found himself fighting Alice now. Blood was dripping from her feet, leaving stains on the grey carpet.

That didn't keep her from hitting him with a quick succession of curses though. It was the first time he was in a real fight one on one this evening and it didn't go to well.

He was caught in the defensive position, so busy blocking her curses that he couldn't use any of his own.

If he wasn't able to think of something soon, he'd lose to her and Bellatrix and Rabastan were going to face two Aurors on their own. There was so little time to think however. He couldn't let his concentration slip away.

Still, there was something. He needed to make use of his skills. There was a spell that they had used on delirious patients. It separated a wizard's mind and magic for a short time. On a healthy witch like Alice this wouldn't last for long, but maybe long enough for him to hit her with another curse.

He quickly spoke the incantation. Alice's shield charm was useless against this spell. It wasn't magic directed at her from the outside but a spell that manipulated her own.

When Alice spoke her next curse, Rodolphus realised that it had worked. For the very first time, a spell cast by the Longbottom woman failed.

With a smile, Rodolphus cast his next spell. Blue light was engulfing her, her legs stopped carrying her and she fell to the ground.


	2. Part 2 Pain

**Pain**

Alice was unconscious. Rodolphus knew she wouldn't remain so for long however. He conjured robes and bound her tightly. Afterwards he took her wand from her hand. Phoenix feather and poplar wood.

It was a satisfying feeling to have the person who had almost defeated him lying on the floor helplessly.

His wife's fall distracted Frank Longbottom for a moment, a moment long enough for Bellatrix and Rabastan to hit him with a Stunning spell at the same time.

Stage one of the operation was completed.

Rodolphus looked down at Alice once again. Having her here as well could prove quite helpful. Even if Frank refused to speak to protect himself he'd probably be more likely to do so to protect his wife.

Rodolphus was looking forward to it. Many people believed that the Cruciatus curse was crude and disgusting but he disagreed. There was something sensual about that curse, especially if it was used on a person he liked to look at such as Alice. The all-consuming intensity of the curse, forcing all other thoughts out the victim's mind had something fascinating as well.

"Can you have a look at him before we start?" Rodolphus heard his brother ask.

He was talking about Barty of course. Rodolphus wasn't sure if the boy shouldn't better spend the rest of the evening unconscious but he certainly did have to look at the curse Alice had used.

It had been more powerful than a normal Stunning spell but nothing Rodolphus couldn't undo. Barty scrambled to his feet, looking embarrassed. "I was simply hit from behind. Sorry for not being more help."

"No problem. We've got them both. Come on."

The two of them walked over to Longbottom and the others. Alice was waking up again. When realising what situation she found herself in, a word slipped from her mouth that Rodolphus would never have expected from her.

"I think you should draw the Circle first," Bellatrix said when Rodolphus and Barty had joined them. The boy looked perplexed.

Rodolphus however knew what she was talking about. The Circle would keep their prisoners from escaping or getting help by magic. It also made it impossible for people on the outside to hear what was going on.

They had always used it when torturing people.

Rodolphus spoke the incantation and a line of blue light came out of his wand, creeping past them and around Alice as well. She was watching it carefully, obviously aware of its purpose. Maybe she was thinking about a way to escape as well, they'd have to keep an eye on her. Frank and Alice Longbottom had escaped the Dark Lord three times.

Each time it had seemed completely impossible before they had done it.

When the line had closed around them, Bellatrix turned to Longbottom. She took his wand, tossing it carelessly aside before speaking the spell: "Enervate."

The Auror attempted to get up right away looking for his wand which wasn't there anymore.

"No need to get up," Bellatrix told him. Longbottom was ignoring her of course. He wasn't standing for long though. A spell by Bellatrix made his legs give away underneath him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"We know you've been searching for the Dark Lord. We want to know what you found out," Bellatrix said.

"You're wasting your time," the Auror replied calmly. "Voldemort's dead."

"Don't you dare speak his name," Bellatrix shouted.

Rodolphus shook his head. As soon as the Dark Lord was concerned she simply couldn't keep her countenance anymore.

"You're lying. The Dark Lord can't die."

"Voldemort's dead," Longbottom repeated. "There's nothing else I have to tell you."

To Rodolphus' relief, Bellatrix stayed calm at the mention of their Master's name this time. "We know that you have found out something," he told Longbottom. "Trying to deny that is pointless."

"And you really think I'm going to help you find him and help him back to power or whatever it is you're intending to do? Why should I do such a thing?"

"You are going to tell us everything you know," Bellatrix said. "The question is not if, the question is how. You can simply answer us, but things can get a lot more unpleasant if you want them to."

She was smiling slightly.

"I admire your confidence," Longbottom said. "Still, you're not going to get any information from me. Do you really think I fear the Cruciatus curse? Or whatever else you're coming up with?"

"So you do not fear the Cruciatus curse?" Bellatrix was asking. "We'll see that."

She raised her wand and spoke the curse. Longbottom's face was contorted with pain but he didn't scream or twitch as people normally did when subjected to this curse. Bellatrix' expression clearly showed that she wasn't satisfied with the results.

Rodolphus knew why Longbottom seemed to be affected by the curse only so little. The Aurors were trained to resist the Cruciatus curse. If she kept it up long enough, his resistance would break but Rodolphus didn't see the point in waiting so long. He could achieve this much faster. Due to his healing training he could interfere with other people's magic in a way impossible for anyone else.

He also wanted to use the curse on Longbottoms. He had fantasized about it back at Hogwarts when Longbottom had attacked or mocked him once again, always speaking his last name as if it were an insult.

Tonight he was going to pay.

"Let me have a go," he told his wife hoping she'd know why he could hope to be more successful than she was. Obviously she did. She lifted her wand.

Longbottom was lying on the floor, slightly breathless but otherwise unharmed. Rodolphus pointed his own wand at his head reaching for the destructive magic waiting to be used.

At first, Longbottom was reacting he same way he had done before.

Rodolphus however was aware of Longbottom's own magic flowing through his body and shielding him against the effects of the curse. The two strands of magic were repelling each other because of the hatred between their wielders. Rodolphus pictured his own magic like a mould's mycelia chords growing right through Longbottom's protective magic destroying and poisoning it from within.

This time, Longbottom did scream. From the pain as well as from the horror caused by this malicious intrusion into his own magic. The curse was working the way it was supposed to.

Rodolphus was watching him write in pain with satisfaction. Finally he had him where he had always wanted him.

Still, he needed to give him a chance to answer the question. He lifted the curse. Longbottom wiped beads of sweat from his brow with his sleeve, attempting to give them a defiant look. It wasn't quite successful.

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked.

"Voldemort is dead," Longbottom said again.

"I thought we had been through this", Bellatrix told him ignoring his use of the name. "We know he isn't dead and so do you. Tell us where he is."

"I don't know."

"You do know."

"I'm not going to tell you anything."

This conversation wasn't leading them anywhere, Rodolphus thought. He hadn't expected this to be easy but it was still annoying.

"Alright. Let's cast the curse together," Bellatrix said. "Maybe that will loosen your tongue."

Longbottom's resistance was gone and even if it had still been there, against four curses it probably wouldn't have lasted long. His body was convulsing, his hands tearing at his own hair and clothes. Bellatrix had a feverish gleam in her eyes. She obviously wanted to make him pay for having fought off her curse before.

"Keep eye contact," Rodolphus told Barty who was standing next to him. "And hold your wand steady." The boy obeyed or at least he was trying.

"Let's ask him again," Rabastan said.

Longbottom looked shakily but he was obviously trying to use some methods he had been trained in to regain his composure.

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked again.

"Voldemort's dead."

Rodolphus cast a short look at the ceiling. Longbottom had obviously memorised this phrase and kept repeating even though he knew by now that no one believed it. He was attempting to find the answers in his mind but the Auror's Occlumency was still way too good for that.

"He's not dead. Where is he?" Bellatrix asked.

"I'm not going to tell you anything."

Rodolphus thought that they needed a different approach. "Listen to me, Longbottom," he said, looking down at the captured Auror. "I don't know what you believe we're going to do if you keep this up? Kill you maybe? We won't. You probably don't know that but the Cruciatus curse will leave permanent damage to your mind if we have to carry on like this."

People like Longbottom were extremely afraid of being weak and dependent on others. "You're going to spend the rest of your lift at 's not knowing who or what you are. You won't be able to feed yourself, wash yourself or anything. You won't feel or hear or see what's going on around you. You won't remember your own wife, son and parents. This is going to take a while but we can go there and we will if you keep refusing to speak."

Judging by the look on Longbottom's face he wasn't quite sure if he should believe that or not. He couldn't quite hide that the idea did frighten him though. Longbottom wasn't the only one. The small patch of skin on Barty's face that was visible had turned milk-white. He probably had not been aware of these consequences.

"You won't turn me into a traitor."

"Well, at least a more creative response this time," Bellatrix said. "Let's do it again, shall we?"

The four cast their curses again but it was quite clear that something was wrong. The curses affected Longbottom much less than last time. For a moment, Rodolphus was asking himself if his threat had made Longbottom resort to new defensive powers.

Taking closer look he quickly realised that the magic which was interfering didn't come from him.

Rodolphus looked into Alice's direction. Longbottom's wife was watching the scene intently, eye contact was clearly there. It was hard to believe that was actually able to counter Cruciatus curse wandlessly over such a distance but that seemed to be what was happening.

"Stop," Rodolphus told the others. "Longbottom's wife is countering our curses."

To his surprise, Bellatrix was smiling. "Oh yes, I almost forgot that she's here too." Looking at Longbottom she added. "You're wife's love for you must be very great. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to do this. Now let's see how much you love her. Will you tell us what you know if we use the curse on her?"

Longbottom looked horrified. "Leave Alice out of this," he said.

"We surely won't," Rodolphus said. "I'm going to fetch her."

He walked over to Alice and undid the ropes binding her. "Get up and come with me," he told her. She did so without hesitation, probably knowing that any resistance would be futile anyway. She winced slightly when she was putting weight on her injured feet.

"Down on your knees," he ordered when they had reached the others.

Again, she obeyed, looking at the wall behind him.

"You're going to do it?" Bellatrix asked.

"Yes."

Rodolphus cast the curse. It didn't work properly but he had expected that. Alice too had learned how to defend herself against it and he'd have to break her resistance like he had done with her husband.

This time, that was much more difficult though. He couldn't find two distinctly different forms of magic at odds with each other. His magic seemed to merge with her in some way and she transformed it into something harmless. He attempted to undermine her defences the same way he had done it with her husband but the chords of dark magic seemed to simply vanish within hers.

Rodolphus was feeling Bellatrix' eyes on them both. Maybe he'd need her help this time. Alice probably couldn't hold out long against their combined curses but he had the ambition to destroy her defences himself. He poured more power into the curse but it didn't make any difference.

It took a while until he had figured out how. She was transforming his magic for her own purposes; he simply had to do the same with hers. Use her own magic against her.

The strategy proved extremely effective. Shock and fear were mixing with the pain of a torture curse that did its purpose. Rodolphus almost forgot about the other people in the room. This was only about the two of them.

That was, until he heard Rabastan tell him to stop. He obeyed; his brother usually had a good reason for demanding something like that.

Alice looked at him defiantly. "You should be ashamed. Ashamed to abuse your gift like that."

"Leave her alone," Longbottom said.

"If you're telling us where the Dark Lord is," Bellatrix said.

There was a pause, then he said slowly: "Alright, I'll tell you."

"No!" Alice shouted right away. Rodolphus looked at her angrily. "Silence!"

"Alice, I can't, I'm not going to watch-"

"Please don't tell them anything. Not because of me."

"Alice-"

"Just don't. I'm not that important."

"You're going to regret this," Rodolphus told her and he meant it. "You may know about the consequences the Cruciatus curse has but you do not know how long it's going to take."

Alice was looking at him directly again. "Nothing you can do to me can be worse than living with the knowledge that Voldemort has returned because of me."

"Don't say his name!"

"There's no need to be afraid of a name, Rodolphus Lestrange."

So she knew who he was. Well, it wasn't that much of a surprise.

"I don't want to give Voldemort the chance to do to others what he has done to you."

Rodolphus didn't waste any time on this cryptic statement.

"Are you going to tell us now?" Bellatrix asked Longbottom.

He paused for a while, looking at his wife again. Then he shook his head. "No."

"Oh well," Bellatrix said. "So we'll have to continue."

So they did, using the curse on one of the two Longbottoms while the other was watching. Both Rabastan and Barty didn't use it on Alice however. Frank stubbornly kept refusing to talk.

Rodolphus was already wondering if the entire thing would be futile. Maybe he'd talk right before the damage was going to be done. This was their last chance to get their information from him.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus were using the curse on Alice when he saw a blinding flash of light. Almost immediately he felt a burning sensation on his back.

Turning around he saw a small, round-faced boy standing there, clutching his father's wand. Bellatrix too had lifted her curse and was looking at the boy.

"Oh no, Neville," Alice sighed.

Neville had somehow managed to walk in to the Circle. He kept shouting all the curses he had heard this evening at Rodolphus and Bellatrix. None of them had the desired effect but there were flashes of light. This family was unbelievable, Rodolphus thought. Even their not even three-year old son attempted to fight them.

He was wondering what to do about the situation. Threatening the child might have the desired effect. Judging by Frank's horrified expression he was expecting exactly that.

Rodolphus didn't know how the others would react though. Rabastan didn't like to see children get hurt and Barty probably didn't either. In Bella's case he wasn't sure. The last thing the needed was an argument among them however.

Neville was stumbling towards them, his wand aimed at Rodolphus. "Crucio," he said.

There was no effect of course; the boy wasn't coming from the House of Lestrange after all.

"Don't you ever say this again, Neville," Alice said with a sudden firmness in her voice. "Whatever happens, don't say this again. Promise me."

"Yes Mum," the child said holding onto his mother's arm now.

"Be good and do the right thing," she told him next.

"Enough of this sentimentality," Rodolphus said. "Make sure your son is getting himself out of the way."

Bellatrix looked at Barty. "I think you should take him away. Dump him at some Muggle's house."

In her book, this was probably one of the most insulting things she could suggest but Alice disagreed, unsurprisingly.

"Evelyn. Take him to Evelyn, will you? The house next to ours," she told Barty.

"Yes, I'll take him there," the young Crouch said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Thank you."

The boy was still clinging to his mother. "You have to go with this man, Neville," she said.

Tears were streaming down her face.

Barty was half leading, half carrying Neville outside. To Rodolphus it seemed as if he were quite glad for the excuse to get out.


	3. Part 3 Insanity

**Insanity**

When he had closed the door behind him, Bellatrix turned to Frank Longbottom once again.

"Well, now that the children are out of the room we can continue. I've seen how worried you were about your son. You'd like to see him grow up, wouldn't you?"

A good idea, Rodolphus thought.

Longbottom took a deep breath but didn't answer.

"Not answering any question, are you? Anyway, it doesn't matter. I know you would like to. He's talented, isn't he? Able to use his magic at this age. A true pureblood."

Rodolphus was asking himself if Bellatrix herself wanted to see the pureblood child grow up with his parents. She often seemed to be more wary of attacking people from the old families.

"Simply tell us what you know about the Dark Lord and you can go and fetch your son from your neighbours in, well I don't know how much it is, half an hour? We're not here to kill you or harm you severely if we can avoid it. Tell us and nothing more will happen to you."

"You're going to let us go?" Longbottom asked disbelievingly.

"That was the plan," Rabastan said in his straightforward manner. It was almost impossible not to believe he was saying the truth when he was talking like that. At least not for Rodolphus who had known his older brother all his life.

Longbottom looked as if he was seriously considering it.

"Maybe, he'll return anyway."

"No Frank. They're not going to let us go. We're Aurors and on Voldemort's death list."

Rodolphus looked at Alice, feeling the thoroughly unmagical desire to strangle her.

"She's right," Longbottom said suddenly. "Stop lying to me like that!"

Bellatrix too shot a very angry glance into Alice's direction. This was the second time she had messed it up. Rodolphus was going to make her pay for this. He felt as if he could cast the Cruciatus curse on her without even using wand or incantation.

Bellatrix had other plans. "Very well. Let's see how long you can resist the Cruciatus curse then." She looked at Alice. "And you watch closely and remember, my offer stands."

A reasonable plan. Rodolphus fought his desire to put Alice in pain back and joined his brother and wife doing it to Longbottom instead. He wasn't sure if trying to cause the maximum amount of pain would really have any effect on him but there was nothing else to try at the moment.

After a while the curse started to affect Longbottom's body stronger. In one break they took to ask him it was clearly visible that he was having fever. Under the next curse, he vomited, soiling his clothes. The one that followed made him lose control over his bladder.

Rodolphus knew how to interpret these signs. He wouldn't last long anymore. Three curses were definitely enough now.

He'd better try something else.

Alice was watching the scene in front of her, shaking all over as if her nightgown wasn't enough to keep her warm. She seemed to try to help Frank like she had done at the beginning but it wasn't working anymore. Rodolphus' first curse had already made sure of that.

He was approaching her from behind, putting his hands on her shoulders. She flinched; the fast beating of her heart was easy to feel through the thin fabric.

"Don't touch me," she said.

"I can do to you whatever I want," he told her. "There's nothing you can do about it. And your husband is not in a position to help you either. Have you seen what's happened to him?"

"You're wife's here," she said.

Rodolphus laughed when he realised what she was thinking.

"We're not talking about my wife; we're talking about your husband." He made her look into his direction. "He's enduring this because he doesn't want to disappoint you, Alice. Do you really think it's worth it? Do you really think your so called cause is worth this?"

"Everything the four of you are doing this evening makes me think so more," Alice responded without a second of hesitation.

So much pride and defiance.

Rodolphus couldn't let her get away with this. He let go of her and pointed his wand at her. "Crucio."

Using the curse had never been that easy before. She bit her lip, bloods was trickling over her face staining the white of her nightgown.

"Longbottom will not give us any answers anymore," Rabastan said. "Are you listening?"

It took a while for these words to reach Rodolphus. He lifted the curse on Alice and looked to the others. She did the same and hid her face in her hands when she realised what had become of her husband.

Bellatrix was staring at them, a feverish, haunted look in her eyes. Rodolphus knew this expression. She always wore it when her missions for the Dark Lord had gone wrong.

"Let's go," Rabastan said his voice heavy.

"No," Bellatrix shrieked. "She's still there. Maybe she knows too."

She stepped over to Alice and looked down upon her. "You tell me where the Dark Lord is!"

"I don't know where he is. We're not allowed to talk about our missions to each other. A sensible rule by the way."

Rodolphus knew that she was telling the truth. His Legilimency skills told him that much. He didn't point it out however. She shouldn't get away like that. The failure of the entire things had been only her fault.

When Bellatrix cast the curse on Alice once again, he joined in without hesitation. Bellatrix' curse was way too strong and unstable, he could tell easily. Rodolphus should have kept her from this madness, it was taking way too much out of her this way, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Alice was the one he was interested in at the moment. He wanted her to suffer until she regretted her constant meddling.

Rabastan was walking around them, his impatience clearly visible. "You're wasting your time," he told his brother and sister-in-law. Neither reacted to this in any way.

Bellatrix still paused with the torture to ask Alice where the Dark Lord was. Alice kept giving the same answer like her husband had done before. Unlike him she wasn't lying however.

Just like it had on him, the curse was soon taking its toll on her. During the third pause, it was clearly visible that she had fever. Her body was attempting to fight the dark magic off that way, a hopeless struggle of course. Visible on her face was only despair, no hint of defiance anymore.

Under the next curse, Alice too was vomiting and almost suffocated from the mixture of blood and vomit in her face. She still tried to clean herself up after that but barely managed to answer Bellatrix's question anymore.

"I don't know." The words were barely audible.

She looked at Rodolphus. "Please, Rodolphus please, I can't stand this anymore."

"I know that," he told her before casting the next curse.

She had had her chance, and refused to take it. Now it was much too late.

When Bellatrix asked her next time, she didn't answer anymore. Alice didn't seem to see her anymore at all. She was still trying to appeal to Rodolphus' pity, begging for mercy and holding unto his robes.

He kicked her so she fell backwards again.

"You are where you belong now, blood traitor," Bellatrix said.

Satisfying as her reaction was, Rodolphus knew that Alice wasn't in control of her behaviour anymore. Trying to beg for mercy wasn't a conscious decision on her part but an instinctive sense of self-preservation.

Not that it did her any good.

The next curse was the last one as Rodolphus had thought it would be.

She gave one last scream that made even Bellatrix flinch and then there was silence.

"It's over," Rabastan said.

Rodolphus looked down upon the former Auror. She was lying quite still, her face grey like ash. Even her once blue eyes seemed to have changed towards grey.

"I don't believe this!" Bellatrix shouted. "They didn't say a single word."

"Let's get out of here," Rabastan said. "Quickly now. Barty, you too."

Neither Bellatrix nor Rodolphus had even noticed that the boy had returned.

As soon as the four Death Eaters had returned to the Lestranges' house, Barty hurried towards the bathroom.

The others took off their black robes. Rodolphus noticed a large burn hole on his. That Longbottom's boy really had talent, he thought.

Bellatrix' face had a reddish colour and looked strangely hollow. She quickly walked towards the living-room without a word or a sideways glance, as if she were expecting to meet the Dark Lord who'd punish her for her failure.

"What a mess," Rabastan said. "Now the Aurors will be after our blood. What do you think? We could say it was only us. We might be able to survive it, but the others are not."

Rodolphus heard the words his brother was saying but they held little meaning. Silently he walked on following Bellatrix.

"Rodolphus? I was talking to you."

"There's a reason these curses are called unforgivable," a wizard from one of the portraits joined into the conversation.

Rabastan gave him an angry look. "Don't pretend you've never used the Cruciatus curse, Rinaldo."

"That's why I know," the wizard said, watching his descendants with a worried frown.

"Listen, Rodolphus, we have a real problem now," Rabastan tried again.

"Tomorrow, okay?" his brother said. He couldn't deal with Rabastan's worries now. In his head, there was only emptiness.

"Okay, tomorrow."

They walked into the living-room and sat down. The clock was tolling twice. Two o clock in the morning.

Bellatrix looked at them, her eyes wide as if she had eaten certain poisonous plants. "We were faithful. The Dark Lord will reward us, won't he? Won't he?" Her voice grew louder and louder.

"No one's going to reward us," Rabastan said. "The Dark Lord doesn't tolerate failure and we're facing the Dementors or worse. We need a new plan. Tomorrow."

They were all sitting there in silence for a while. Rabastan was fetching a carafe of water and poured some into jars, handing them to the others. They took the water but no one even bothered with a word of thanks.

After a while, Rabastan once again broke the silence. "Maybe I should look for Barty. It seems as if he has fallen into the toilet or something."

This wasn't necessary however. The boy joined them only a few minutes later, his freckled face milk-white.

He looked at the clock and sat down next to Rodolphus.

"I didn't know that someone could endure the Cruciatus curse for so long," he said. His voice sounded strangely high quite unlike his own.

"I don't know how to go through the few minutes when the Dark Lord's punishing me."

Rabastan gave him a worried look.

Barty kept on talking. "She reminded me of my own mother when she was with the boy. The boy, what will become of the boy? He has watched too much and he's not even three years old."

"You should have stayed at home with your Mommy," Rodolphus told him annoyed. "If you can't keep your mouth shut, go out of here."

Barty flinched, staring at him in shock. Until now, he had only ever known Rodolphus as a patient listener to all his worries and doubts.

Rabastan looked at them all, frowning. He almost reminded Rodolphus of old Rinaldo, the former master of the Cruciatus curse whose portrait self preferred to worry nowadays.

"Oh, what have we done, brothers and sister," the older Lestrange said.

His words were only greeted by silence.


End file.
